Wall-closure construction



B. C. ROCKWELL.

WALL CLOSURE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE Il, 1919A Patented Deo. 28, 1920.

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BYR'D C. BOKWELL, OIF CAMDEN, ARKANSAS.

WALL-CLOSUEE GONSTRUGTIDN.

specification of Letters raient.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

Application led June 11, 1919. Serial No. 303,295.

. pertains to make and use the same, reference liti being had to the accompanying drawings,

forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in closures of the type which are designed to be supported on hinges and arranged to close the door and window openin s of buildings.

Vhile my improved construction is particularly designed for use upon screen and storm doors, hinged window screens, and the like, it is equally applicable for any closure that is hung so that it will close against the outer face of the door casing or other structure inclosing the opening.

My present invention is an improvement upon the wall closure construction disclosed in Patent No. 1,249,204: issued to me December 4;, 1917, and it is the principal object of my present invention to generally improve upon and simplify the construction dis-- closed in the patent aforesaid, and further, to provide a construction which can be easily and cheaply manufactured and which will be very effective in performing its intended functions.

Further objects of my invention are to provide the frame of a closure such as a door or window with a. packing strip which will coperate with the door or window cas ing to' form a practically dust, weather and, insect proof joint; to construct the doorlor window frame and packing member so that the latter vwill be effectively anchored or seated in the frame without the use of devices such as nails or tacks; to provide a packing member which will render the closing of the door or window as nearly noiseless as possible; to eliminate the possibility of injury or marring of the casing with which the 'closure wall ordinarily makes contact; and, furthento construct the combined packing or buffer member so that it will yield readily at any desired point in order that a relatively tight joint may be maintained between the, frame of the closure and an unevenportion of the door or window casing.

`W1th the foregoing and other objects 1n view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction andv arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompany-- infr drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevational View of a portion of a screen door or window frame constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View of one of the rails or stiles of a door or window frame of my improved construction and showing its disposal in relation to the door or-win dow casing.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. t2 and showing a modified form of the strucure.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a portion of a rail or stile with the packing or buffer strip seated therein and said strip weakened by transverse slits in order that it will give eadily and iit snugly against an uneven surace.

Fig. 5 is an edge view of a rail or stile ofmy improved construction and showing the packing or buffer strip carried thereby fitting over a projection on the door or window casing.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 4 and showing a modified form of the packing or buffer strip.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing a modified form of the packing or buffer strip.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View showing a further modied form of the packing or bu'er strip.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a practical embodiment of my invention, 10, 10 designate the stile members of a door or window frame, and 11 the top rail of said frame these parts being preferably constructed o wood and of any desired cross sectional shape.

Formed in the inner faces of the stiles and rails of the frame thus constructed are grooves or channels 12, the same being disposed adjacent to and parallel with the outer edges of the stiles and rails. These grooves may be either round as illustrated in Fig. 2, or of dove-tailed'shape, as illusj inner portion. v packing or buffer member 13 preferably a trated in'F ig. 3,'and in each instance the width of the groove on the face of rail or stile is less than the width of its bottom or Seated in this groove 'is a section of rubber tubing, and when the same is forced into the groove, the greater portion of the body of said tube will occupy said groove with a substantial portion projecting from the faceof the stile or rail, thus forming a yielding member which is adapted to make direct contact with the door or window frame to which the closure is applied.

In some instances it may be found desirable to secure the pa'cking or buffer member 13 in position within the groove or channel 12 by means of a suitable adhesive but this is not always necessary by reason of the fact that the greater portion of said member occupies the widest portion of the groove or that portion below the mouth of said groove, and this arrangement is effective in securely retaining the buffer member in position upon the rail or stile. Further, it will be understood that a structure such as a screen or storm door or screen window is usually lretained in closed position by a spring or latch and when so positioned the projecting portion of the buffer member bears with a greater or less degree of pressure against the'surface of the door casing and this condition tends to firmly position the buffer member in the groove.

In the event that a portion of the surface of the casing with which the packing or buffer member makes contact is rough or uneven, that section or length vof the projecting portion of the packing or buffer member that makes contact with the rough or uneven surface is provided with a series of transversely disposed slits 14, which to a certain extent weaken; the stability or firmness of said member andV as a result this slitted portion of the member will yield more readily than the unslitted portion and will fit snugly over a slight projection or protuberance on the surface of the casing and provide the desired dust, weather and insect proof joint. (See Fig. 5.) These transverse slits in the projecting portion of the packing or buffer member may be plain transverse cutsmade with a knife or like tool, as illustrated in Fig. 4:, or said slits maybe formed by removing from the projecting portion of the member narrow wedge-shaped portions which results in the formation of V-shaped slits, as illustrated in Fig. 6. j

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 7, the rail or stile is provided with a palr of grooves or channels 15 spaced a short distance apart and oppositely inclined with respect to each other, and seated in these grooves are the edges of a combined packing strip and buffer member 16, preferabl formed of rubber or analogous materia the central portion of which projects beyond the face of the rail or stile.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 8, a pair of inclined grooves 17 which are immediately adjacent to each other are formed in the rail or stile and seated therein are the edges of a packing or buffer strip 18 of rubber or analogous material.

.A closure of my improved construction is relatively simple, can be easily and cheaply manufactured and the combined packing and buffer strip carried by the frame of the closure provides an effective dust, weather and insect proof joint between said closure and the casing against which it is normally positioned, and at the same time, said strip performs the functions of a cushioning buffer and protects the finished surfaces of both the swinging closure and the casing against marring and like injury and further, the buffer strip acts as a cushion for the closure swinging against the casing or like structure and eliminates the noise incident to the contact between the parts.

By my improved construction the combined packing and buffer strip is retained upon the rails and Stiles of the closure without the use of an adhesive or extraneous fastening devices, and consequently said strip when worn so as to lose its effectiveness, can be readily removed and replaced by a new strip.

It will be understood that in ordinary practice the projecting portion of the packing and buffer strip has sufficient flexibility to yield and conform to ordinary irregularities between the closure and door or window casing and that the weakening of said strip with the transverse slits is only effected at points where there are substantial projections or depressions onthe face of the casmg.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved closure can be madeand substituted for those herein shown and described, without dep'arting from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. The combination with a closure member provided with a groove having a relatively narrow mouth, of a flexible tubular member seated in said groove with a portion projecting through the. narrow mouth of said groove, andthe projecting portion of said flexible member being provided with transversely disposed slits.

2. The combination with a closure member provided with a groove, the width of which on the face of the member is less than the width of the inner portion of said groove, of a flexible tubular member seated in seid tgroove with o.. portion projecting beyond the ieee of the closure member, and the projecting portieri oil said flexible niember being provided with. transversely disposed slits. y

T he (combination with a closure meinber provided With :t groove, the Width of theniouth of which is less than the width ot' its inner portion, of an elastic tube seated in seid groove and having a portion projeoting beyond the face of the grooved closure nienberj and the projecting portion of said elastic tube being provided with tra-nsversely disposed slits.

e. iin well closure construction, a packing member comprising-a tube of elastic material that is provided throughout its length with transversely disposed slits which extend through the Wall of the tube and partially through the body thereof.

5. The combination with :L closure me1nber provided vwith a groove, of an elastic tube seated in said groove and having zt portion of its body projecting beyond the face of said closure member and that portion of said tube which projects beyond the face of the closure member being provided with trsnsversesly disposed slits which extend through the wall of said elastic tube.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 7th day of June, 1919.

BYRD C. ROCKWELL. 

